Eye of the Needle (film)

A man calling himself Henry Faber (Donald Sutherland) is actually a German spy nicknamed "the Needle" because of his preferred method of assassination, the stiletto. Cold and calculating, he is emotionlessly focused on the task at hand, whether the task is to signal a U-boat or to kill anyone who poses a threat to his mission.

In England, he obtains critical information on the Allies' plans for the Invasion of Normandy but is unable to transmit the information. After narrowly escaping British intelligence in London, Faber tries to make his way to Nazi Germany, but he is stranded by fierce weather on Storm Island, which is occupied by only a woman, Lucy (Kate Nelligan); her disabled husband, David (Christopher Cazenove); their son; and a shepherd, Tom (Alex McCrindle).

A romance develops between the woman and the spy, largely because of an estrangement between Lucy and her husband, an accident on their honeymoon having rendered him embittered and physically confined to a wheelchair.

David has always been suspicious of Faber and, having discovered the mysterious guest is carrying military information, demands an explanation from him at gunpoint. A struggle ensues, which ends with Faber throwing David off a cliff.

Lucy, chancing upon her husband's dead body, realises that Faber has been lying to her, and she hatches a plan to get away from him. However, her flight alerts him that she is suspicious, and he pursues her. Lucy, after discovering Tom's dead body, radios the mainland. She is told that help will be sent immediately, but in the meantime, it is vital for her to destroy the island's radio transmitter.

She is confused by the request, but before she can do anything, Faber appears and threatens to kill her son if she does not do as he says. The Needle tries to use the radio to report to his superiors the exact location of the D-Day invasion, but just as he is about to impart the information, Lucy, having heard him speaking in German, blows the house's fuses, rendering the transmitter useless.

Faber expresses admiration for what Lucy has done and tells her that the war has come down to both of them. Thinking Lucy poses no further threat to him, he heads towards the shore to be picked up by a German U-boat, as previously arranged.

Lucy, now fully aware of the stakes that are involved, chases Faber to the sea and shoots wildly at him with her husband's pistol as he tries to launch a small rowboat to reach the U-boat that lies just offshore. One of her shots strikes Faber but does not instantly kill him, and as he struggles to launch the boat, he falls forward dead.

Having been unable to transmit his information or reach the U-boat to get away safely, his mission has been thwarted. Soon afterward, the British intelligence agent who was chasing Faber arrives with the police. He encounters a despondent Lucy, Faber's body, and the fleeing German submarine.

• Donald Sutherland as Henry Faber
• Kate Nelligan as Lucy Rose
• Ian Bannen as Inspector Godliman
• Christopher Cazenove as David Rose
• Stephen MacKenna as Lieutenant
• Philip Martin Brown as Billy Parkin
• George Belbin as Lucy's Father
• Faith Brook as Lucy's Mother
• Barbara Graley as David's Mother
• Arthur Lovegrove as Peterson
• Barbara Ewing as Mrs. Garden
• Patrick Connor as Inspector Harris
• David Hayman as Canter
• Alex McCrindle as Tom
• John Bennett as Kleinmann
• Sam Kydd as Lock Keeper
• John Paul as Home Guard Captain
• Bill Nighy as Squadron Leader Blenkinsop
• Jonathan and Nicholas Haley (twins) as Joe (David and Lucy's son)
• Allan Surtees as Colonel Terry
• Rik Mayall as sailor on train

The Storm Island scenes were shot over eight weeks on the Isle of Mull, in the Inner Hebrides.[1] The distinctive Connel Bridge appears in the film, and some of the location filming was shot at Blackbushe Airport, Yateley.

Roger Ebert "admired the movie" and stated that it "resembles nothing so much as one of those downbeat, plodding, quietly horrifying, and sometimes grimly funny war movies that used to be made by the British film industry, back when there was a British film industry."[2] On Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of critics gave the film positive reviews.

The DKW Munga vehicle shown on the island was not built until the 1950s. The enclosed-cabin Westland Widgeon helicopter that is briefly shown toward the end of the film is likewise an anachronism and dates from the mid-1950s. The German U-boat that is intended to do the pickup is actually the silhouette of a British T-class submarine. The BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0 pulling the Inverness bound train with the 'Needle' on board was not built until the mid-1950s.

• Eye of the Needle at IMDb
• Eye of the Needle at the TCM Movie Database
• Eye of the Needle at AllMovie
• Eye of the Needle at Rotten Tomatoes
• Eye of the Needle at Box Office Mojo